The new figures come as a leaked report from the Department of Health confirms the full costs of the reorganisation at over £3 billion.

New, official figures list the costs of NHS redundancies in every community during the first year of the Tory-led Government’s NHS re-organisation. Figures reveal that Southampton’s NHS has already been forced to spend £501,000 laying off staff – only for many expected to be re-employed elsewhere in the system. And this is just the first phase of redundancies – further damaging figures are expected in the summer.

The new figures come as a leaked Government ‘business case’ for its Health Bill confirms the vast overall costs of the Government’s NHS reorganisation. It confirms that almost £16million in Southampton is being held back from NHS patient care to pay for the reorganisation, in the form of a Government-ordered 2 per cent Primary Care Trust budget hold back in 2011-12 and 2012-13 – amounting to £3.45bn across England.

John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, said:

“People need to know why over half a million pounds is being wasted on an NHS reorganisation no one wants. It is madness that such a huge sum of money is going to be spent on payouts for staff only for them to be redeployed elsewhere.

“David Cameron and the Conservative-led Government are taking away billions of pounds from patient care to pay for this NHS reorganisation.

“Only last month, residents united at a ‘Drop the Bill’ meeting in Southampton to demand the Government listen to professional opinion and public outcry over its plans. Instead Cameron went ahead, which goes to show his arrogance on the issue of the NHS”.

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said:

“It is nothing short of scandalous that the Prime Minister is wasting billions on a unnecessary re-organisation whilst also cutting 4,000 nurses’ jobs.

“In Opposition, David Cameron promised no top-down re-organisation of the NHS. In office, he brought forward the biggest ever. Cameron is an NHS con-man and we will hold him to account for his betrayal of patients and staff.

“He has inflicted chaos on the NHS and patients are paying the price in longer waits and a growing postcode lottery.

“The argument in Westminster may be over but Labour is taking the battle for the NHS to every town, street and doorstep. We will be, as we have always been, the last line of defence for the NHS in your community. A vote for Labour in May is a positive vote for the NHS.”